DG and CFO under fire over costs of the funeral

Staff reporter

Bloemfontein – The Director General of Free State Provincial Government, Kopung Ralikontsane and Chief Financial Officer, Sello are reportedly under fire over the costs of the funeral of Tate Makgoe, the late MEC of Education.

Makgoe and his body guard W/O Piet Mdi died in a car accident near Winburg en route to Bloemfontein, in March.

The funeral had cost the taxpayers R3.5m according to the DA.

In a written reply to the DA, which had asked about the cost of Makgoe’s funeral, Premier Mxolisi Dukwana said the province forked out R693 892 for the memorial service, which was held at the University of Free State on 10 March.

The costs included, among others:

R97 500 for finger food for his family and government dignitaries.
R70 000 for decor, R6 000 for a red carpet and R24 000 for chair covers.
R27 5000 for programmes.
The province also paid R485 480 for what it termed an “MEC infrastructure/lunch” for activities that took place at Makgoe’s house in the period between his death and funeral from 8 to 12 March.

This price tag included the following:

R20 00 for groceries and R13 500 for draping.
R31 050 for a marque.
R34 280 for a generator.
R136 500 for food.
R66 000 for executive chairs.
The bill for the day of the actual funeral was R1 835 980, which did not include funeral parlour and graveyard costs, which came to R417 324.

This amount entailed:

R39 850 for the mortuary fee, which included the preparation of the body.
R84 900 for the casket.
R46 000 for the burial plot.
R95 000 for the tombstone.
R59 000 for red roses.
The cost of the actual funeral came to R1 835 980.

This amount included:

R643 500 for lunch for 3 000 people.
R75 000 each for three gospel artists who performed at the funeral.
R96 876 for accreditation.
R150 000 for snacks for 2 000 people.
In a statement, DA provincial leader Roy Jankielsohn said promises of tightening the financial belt by the Dukwana-led administration were “mere rhetoric”.

“It is clear that nothing is sacred to the ANC, which will use any opportunity to plunder at the expense of the poor people of the Free State.

“If the ANC-run government in the Free State wanted to commemorate the legacy of the former MEC for education, then this money could have been better used to assist his cash-strapped former department,” added Jankielsohn.

Step UP News has learned Toto Makume, acting Premier has tasked AGSA and Treasury to investigate the matter.

According to sources, Makume called an urgent meeting last Monday to understand how the funeral costs came at R3.5m

“The Premier called us and the DG wanted to throw the CFO under the bus but To would have none of it.”

Another source the AGSA and Treasury report will likely send the pair packing.

“The preliminary report by AGSA and Treasury will likely place the acting Premier in a tight spot to suspend them between there is email evidence that shows questions from Treasury were not responded to and for thorough investigation they will have to be suspended pending finalisation.

No one knows why the funeral of W/O Mdi was covered by the FSPG, another bad move.”

With SIU currently setting it’s eyes on the Office of The Premier, this is likely to be promulgated.

This is a developing story.

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